Is the Denver II Developmental Test Worthwhile?
1 Child Development Center, Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University, 2100 Pierce Ave, Nashville, TN 37232
In Reply.
We thank Dr Adesman for his timely and insightful comments regarding our research on the Denver II and Dr Dworkin for his accompanying commentary. Our findings, and Dr Adesman's comments, illustrate why it is important for authors to validate their measures prior to publication, whether their instruments are developmental checklists or screening tests. Validation is proof that instruments assess important rather than insignificant aspects of development. Validation enables authors to remove items which fail to concur with diagnostic measures and add items which best predict performance criteria (eg, successful demonstration of kindergarten readiness skills).




